"You're a dead man."
"A thought which will comfort and warm you during those long nights in the mines." I gave Dojango another mug. This time the other groll took a turn feeding baby. "I keep going till I get that name. You're last. If I have to do you, you get a short dose. Just enough to make you forget who and where you are, but not enough to put you down so you don't go wandering into trouble."
"For heaven's sake, Switz," one of the thugs said as I handed Dojango another mug. "We aren't getting paid enough for this. He's got us by the balls."
"Shut up."said, "You ain't going to see me in no mines."
"Shut up. It can be fixed."
"Bull. You know damned well he wouldn't bother. He'd say we deserved it. He don't have that kind of pull, anyway."
"Shut up."of the grolls snagged the loudest complainer.
"Wait a goddamned minute!" he yelled at me. "It was Zeck Zack that sent us."was startled. I made use of my reaction. "Who the hell is Zeck Zack?"leader groaned.gestured. The grolls put our man down but did not turn him loose. I said, "We won't be sending the rest of you after all. But I'm still going to need you sleeping. Set yourselves down someplace comfortable. We'll serve up the brew."leader said,"You're dead meat, Trask."
"I bet I'll last longer than you," the other thug replied.they bickered I got everything settled. I got the three to drink their beer. We settled back for a listen to our songbird.
"One thing," he said. "The first guy you threw out. He's my brother. You get him back in here or I don't say nothing."
"Morley?"sent Dojango and Doris.was able to tell us almost nothing we didn't already know. He had no idea why Zeck Zack wanted us thumped and run out of town. He had not seen the centaur. Only Switz saw or heard from Zeck Zack. He didn't know if the centaur was in town or not. Probably not, because he almost never was.asked a lot of questions and got almost nothing more. Zeck Zack shielded his infantry from troublesome knowledge about himself.
"You kept your part of the bargain, with one proviso that benefited your brother." The brother was back inside and redressed, sloppily. "So I'll keep mine, with a proviso that will benefit me. Dojango is going to tie you up just tightly enough so it will take you a couple of hours to get loose. When you do, take your brother and get lost."did the honors. He had been sneaking some off the keg and was getting braver by the minute.
"Not bad for improvisation," Morley said.
"Yeah. Thought so myself."
"What now?"
"We strip the other three and dump them where they're sure to get got, then we go see a centaur named Zeck Zack."didn't like it, but he went along. He was making top money and staying out of the hands of his creditors, and what more could a guy want? Cabbages and cattail hearts?
led the way down the old path from the cemetery to the house. I knew the trail but he had the night eyes. Each fifty paces he stopped and asked the darkness, "Hornbuckle?"didn't get an answer until we neared the waking radius of the peafowl.was amazed by the grails. For all their height and mass, they moved through the woods with more stealth than a human.
"Sit," Morley said when tittering answered him at last.sat.forms pranced around and among us. Morley gave each a piece of sugar candy, the most certain bribe there is. They wanted more. He promised it. If... They scattered to do our scouting for us.'ll bet Morley hated himself. He certainly looked disgusted as he tucked the rest of the candy inside his shirt.asked, "Can we trust them?"
"Not much. But they want the rest of the candy. I don't plan to run out till we're on our way again."that we stayed quiet, waiting. I got itchy between the shoulder blades, that feeling you get when someone is watching. Or you think someone is.scalawag Hornbuckle flipped Morley a mock salute.
"How many?"
"Four. Two humans. Very nervous. One centaur. Worried and grumpy. One other. They're awaiting a report from someone and that someone is late. Sugar?"
"Not yet. Are there wardspells? Alarms? Booby traps? Dangerous guard animals?"
"None."
"Any reason for us to fear?"
"They are wicked creatures. All."
"Silence the peafowl so we can pass."
"Sugar?"
"All the sugar I have when we come out."
"You might not get out."
"Why not?". "They are wicked creatures. Very wicked. Especially one."
"All right." Morley took out his candy. "One piece for you. A half piece for each of your friends. The rest if we come out. Tell me the best way to get to them."boy Switz did it to us, so we did it to them.! One groll after another went through the huge double doors of the ballroom. Then Morley. Then me. Then Dojango to guard our rear.was thoughtful of them to have waited in the only room where the grolls would have space to maneuver. The ceilings were eighteen feet high.scattered like squeaking mice when the cat pounces.and Marsha each snagged a man. Morley streaked between them, pursuing a shadowy something that crashed through a window at the far end of the ballroom.the hell was the centaur?he was, a one-critter cavalry charge. I managed a leg whip that tangled some fetlocks or forelocks or whatever they're called. It was a sin, what his hooves did to the carpets and flooring.flung me against something made of mahogany or teak, very hard and very immovable. I practiced exhaling a bushel more air than any human being normally inhales. Somebody was hollering.
"Help, Morley! I got him, Morley! Help!"staggered to my feet.had him all right.Zack was about average for his tribe, about the size of a small pony. He was not built to carry a hundred thirty pounds of Dojango on his back. His problem was complicated by Dojango having his arms and legs wrapped around his skinny chest. He couldn't breathe. He staggered around, banging into things, then went down on his knees.got a choke rope on him, pried Dojango loose, then looked around.grolls had their men subdued. Morley was coming back from the window empty-handed and looking puzzled.caught my breath, straightened my clothing, and led Zeck Zack into a better light, where Morley patted him down for hardware and other lethal surprises. The centaur remained glassy-eyed.
"What happened?" I asked Morley.
"I don't know. I got there three seconds after it went through the glass. And there was nothing. Not a sign of it."
"What was it?"
"I can't even tell you that. I never got a good look."grolls brought the two men over and plunked them down on the floor. They were in a playful mood after events at the inn. They had plucked these birds, too.
"Did you see me, Morley?" Dojango bubbled. "Did you see me? I mean, actually, I took the damned thing down. Did you see me, Morley?"
"Yes. I saw. Shut up, Dojango."seemed troubled.kept looking toward the broken window.
"Well, you've got him, Garrett. Are you going to do something with him?"
"Yeah. All right." I looked at Zeck Zack. "I have a problem, Mr. Zeck." Centaurs stick their family names up front, figuring their antecedents are more important. "People keep trying to whip me and I can't figure out why."Zack had nothing to say. He'd heard me, though.
"All right. I'm going to tell you a story. Then you can tell me one. If I like yours we can part as friends."no reaction. I had a feeling Zeck Zack was tough, and had been through the narrow passage before. He was cool enough. He would do what had to be done.
"Once upon a time up north a guy died. He left everything to a gal he knew when he was in the army. His father hired me to come find her and see if she wanted the legacy. A simple job. A kind I do all the time. Only this time I get people ambushing me and sending thugs to work me over, and nobody anywhere giving me a straight answer. So you might say I'm a little fussed."gave him a chance to comment. He did not. I hadn't thought he would.
"People are trying to push me. So now I'm pushing back. I'm asking questions. I want answers. What's with this woman Kayean that's worth knocking heads?"had nothing to say.
"What's in this to die for? Are you ready to die for it?"got a reaction that time. Just a flicker around the eyes. He didn't think I looked the killer type. But he didn't know me so couldn't be sure.
"He's starting to listen, Garrett," Morley said. "But we ought to convene this somewhere else. The one that got away could bring reinforcements."
"I have faith in sugar as an alarm potential. You know anything about centaurs? I've never dealt with one."
"A little. They're vain, avaricious, mean in most senses of the word, miserly. Overall, not much to recommend. Did I mention that most of them are thieves and liars?"
"Where are their pressure points?"
"Did I mention cowardly? You're on the right track with that rope. Strangle him slowly. He'll come across."
"I don't want to do it the hard way. Nobody's been hurt yet. I'd rather talk, work something out where we could get off each other's backs, and get on with finding the woman. I'm tired of this job. Too many people are interested in us and I don't know why."Zack sort of nibbled at the bait. He spoke for the first time, piping. I almost laughed at his voice. "Can you prove you're what you say you are? If you were nothing more, there would be no difficulty between us."wedge!told Dojango, "Tie up those guys so Doris and Marsha can have their hands free." One of the two was the greeter who had thought we were hilarious gagsters. He looked the worse for wear.grolls helped form a circle around Zeck Zack once they were free of their baby-sitting chores. I handed over every piece of documentation I had. He examined it all minutely. Meanwhile, Morley got antsy.Zack said, "This is all silly enough to be true. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. For the moment."said, "Garrett, we're running out of time. Choke him."
"That would do you no good," Zeck Zack said. "I might tell you many interesting things but I would tell you nothing of value. My position is exposed. Therefore, I am allowed to know nothing of importance. However, I do know one thing of value to you. If you are what you say you are."waited.
"I know someone who knows someone who could bring you face-to-face with the woman."
"Yeah?"
"Did I mention treacherous?" Morley asked.
"One more test, of sorts," Zeck Zack said. "I will recite a list of names, phrases, places. You tell me if you know or have heard of them. I have an ear for the truth."'ve lied successfully to men who thought that. Many times. "Go ahead."scored a mere one half on this one. The same half I scored on the army list. Zeck Zack was amazed by what he heard with his ear for the truth. "You could just be what you say." He gave me a squint-eyed look. "Yes. It might even make sense... I think I know what is happening. It should be put to the test."did some thinking. The rest of us did some waiting, Morley with very poor grace.Zack asked,"Where can I leave you a message?"used my best raised eyebrow.
"Not trusting me, you will, of course, remove from your present lodgings. I will not possess sufficient manpower to locate you again quickly. I am going to attempt to arrange for you to see the woman and complete your mission. If I am successful, I must be able to get that word to you."had a strong feeling he meant to do just what he said, though not out of any inclination to make my life easier. He had motives I couldn't fathom. Everyone but me seemed to have shadowed motives.
"The innkeeper where we're staying now. We'll leave him feeling kindly toward us." I removed the choke rope. "I'm going to play a hunch, a long shot, and take a chance on you, centaur. Maybe because I'm getting desperate. If you've been bullshitting me to get your behind out of a bind, or if you're planning on taking another crack at me, you have a problem."
"Indeed I do. As I said, I am exposed. And vulnerable, as you have demonstrated tonight."thought I would leave everything on that very unsatisfactory note., who had been eager to evacuate some time ago, now jumped all over me for wasting half a night.
"Come on, Morley. It's time to go."
sat on a patch of grass not far from the witch's house, surrounded by little folk stoned on sugar. Only a couple were sober enough to titter occasionally.had turned from argumentative to reflective. "You know what made it interesting, Garrett? That list. Sixteen items. But six of them were the same thing: a name, translated into six different languages. Curious. Especially because it isn't a name either of us recognizes in any of its forms."
"What was that?"rattled off a jawbreaker. "I'd give you the Karentine, but it wouldn't make any sense."
"Try it anyway. Karentine is all I speak."
"There're two possible translations. Dawn of Night's Mercy. Or Dawn of Night's Madness."
"That doesn't make sense."
"I told you it wouldn't."
"What language uses the same word for mercy and madness?"
"Dark elfin."
"Oh," I glanced toward the centaur's house. Not a thing had happened since our departure. I looked at the witch's place. A light burned in an upper-story window. It hadn't been burning when we'd come down the path. "Why don't you guys head on up to the cemetery? I'll catch up in a few minutes. There's something I want to check out."expected Morley to give me an argument. He didn't. He just grunted, got to his feet, got the triplets moving, and vanished into the night.small with a man-sized grin had passed out leaning against me. I tilted him over gently, patted his shoulder when he mumbled something, rose, and headed for the house. I prowled around looking into windows.
"I'm up here, Private Garrett."
"Good. I was hoping to see you. But I was a little leery of waking you." I couldn't see her.laughed. Her laughter was mostly merriment, but it also carried a trace of mockery. She didn't believe me. But she knew I didn't expect her to.
"How can I help you, Private Garrett?"
"You could start by not calling me Private Garrett. I'm out of the Marines. I'd just as soon forget them. Then you can tell me if you know anything about somebody named Dawn of Night's Mercy or Dawn of Night's Madness."was silent so long I feared she had deserted me. Then she threw down the dark elvish gobblewhat Morley had used, applying a distinctly interrogative inflection.
"That's right."
"Gobblewhat is not a person, Mr. Garrett. It is a prophecy, and an unpleasant one from your point of view. The name Gobblewhat is dark elfin, but the prophecy is not. It is an echo, a rumor, an aspiration, out of a deeper night."what she was, she naturally stoked the drama on her declamation, then clammed up, leaving her answer obscure.tried asking questions. That was a waste of time. She was done talking about gobblewhat. She closed the subject by saying, "That was spur of the moment. What did you really want?"was no point playing games. "Are you still in business? I'd like to buy a few of your special tools."ripped off a first-class witch's cackle. It was hilarious. I grinned. The peafowl even got into the act, though their mirth was confused and sleepy. "Go around to the front door," she told me. "You'll find it unlocked."I rejoined Morley and the triplets, I carried five tiny, folded pieces of paper. I had hidden each carefully. Each bore a potent and potentially useful spell. I was still repeating the witch's instructions to myself. Basically, all I had to remember was to unfold the papers at the appropriate moment, though a couple required a whispered word at the right time.said, "So. You survived the trail. I was about to go looking for you. What now?"
"We go back and get what sleep we can. Then early tomorrow we hit the road for Fort Caprice."
"I thought you were going to let the centaur do the finding for you."
"Contrary to the false notion formed earlier, I don't trust him to do anything. If he comes through, fine. Meantime, I go on looking. He expects us to hide from him. I can't think of a better place than out in the Cantard. Two birds, one stone."was as thrilled as I might have expected. "I had to ask, didn't I?"
Caprice was a bust.was four days out of Full Harbor, pushing hard all the way, shielded every step by more luck than any five fools deserved. Not only did we not encounter one of our own Karentine patrols, but we didn't fall in with Venageti rangers or representatives of any of the nonhuman races of the Cantard, most of which are at least marginally involved in the war. Their loyalties shift like a chameleon's color, according to where they think the most profit lies.Caprice was not in the heart of the caldron, though. The richest silver country lay a hundred miles farther south.Kayeth Kronk proved to be brevet-Colonel Kronk now, at the tender age of twenty-six. I did not remind him that we had met before, though I'm sure he remembered me before we reached the end of our short interview. I told him I was looking for his sister Kayean, and told him why. And he told me that he didn't have a sister Kayean.that was all he would say about it. When I kept after him he got stubborn. Then he got mad and had a couple of soldiers show me the street.poked around among the hangers-on Fort Caprice had acquired—like fleas, ticks, and worms to a hound—and found out nothing more interesting than which men were watering their wine and which women would send you away with something you hadn't had when you arrived. So we made the four-day journey back to Full Harbor, with fool's luck cleansing the way ahead of us again.was a lovely time to visit the Cantard.hoped the centaur would come through so I wouldn't have to do it again.would be tempting fate a bit too far We were out of Full Harbor nine days, all told.
major from the military city hall was waiting at the gate through the Narrows Wall. There was nothing magical about it once I realized that without sorcery, a trip to Fort Caprice takes a predictable amount of time. He cut me out of my herd.
"Any luck?" he asked.
"Zip. Zero. Zilch. What can I do for you?"
"I have another list of names."
"And getting my reaction is important enough for you to lay in wait for me out here?"
"Maybe."
"Fire away."did.knew five of the twelve names this time. Father Mike. Father Rhyne. Sair Lojda. Martello Quinn and Aben Kurts, of Denny's old crowd. I admitted knowing the latter two only as friends of a friend, saying I thought they were in shipping. Then I asked, "What ties this together? What's up?"
"All these people, and three more for whom we have no names, have died or disappeared during the last eleven days. I'm certain you would recognize more if you saw them. Imelo Clark was a guard at the civil city hall. Egan Rust was a clerk there. You interviewed them. I was not sure you had any connection with Kurts and Quinn, but since you did, then I assume there's also one with Laught and the three unknowns, all of whom seem to have come off a yacht from TunFaire."
"What the hell are you trying to say?"
"Don't get your hackles up, Garrett. You're safe. You were out of town during the excitement. In fact, the only time I place you or yours near anyone at a critical time is Father Rhyne. I'm satisfied your associate found him dead."didn't say anything. My thoughts were pounding off in twenty directions. What the hell was going on?
"It seems apparent that, in most of these cases, someone is cleaning up after you. It's a wonder you haven't been turned invisible yourself.", I admitted, "It's been tried a couple times."wanted details. He demanded details. I gave him some without mentioning centaurs or dead men or much else that would do him any real good. He thought it was crafty of us, setting the one group up for a career in the mines.observed, "I have a feeling that there are a lot of things you wouldn't tell me no matter how nicely I ask. Like where the others from TunFaire fit in."
"I wouldn't be even a little shy about telling you that if I knew. What's the story on them, anyway?"and Quinn had died the evening we left Full Harbor. They had been found in an alley on the far south side. At first it had looked like they had fallen foul of robbers. Laught—identified because his name and that of the yacht were stitched on the inside of his jumper—died later that night in the graveyard where Kayean and I had played when we were kids. At almost the same time a tremendous explosion and fire had consumed the yacht. No one knew how many had died in that. The unburned remains of the yacht had sunk. It was a miracle the whole waterfront hadn't gone up.
"That's pretty rough stuff," I said. "The stakes must be big. I don't want to sound dumb or impertinent, but what's your interest? Seems to me it's a civil problem, gaudy as it is."
"Full Harbor's reason for existing is military. Anything gaudy could effect the city's military situation. Garrett, I'm convinced you know things I want to know. But I'm not going to press you. When you feel like baring your soul, drop in. And I'll trade you the name of the man she married. Meantime, I'll just use you as a stalking horse."
"Yeah." I waved bye-bye, but my heart was not in it. I was pondering that equine-derived chestnut.and the triplets joined me. "Who was that?" Morley asked. I told him. He asked, "He have anything interesting to say?"told him all that, too.
"Gang warfare and vampires," he mused. "What a city."
"Vampires?"
"Several people claim they were attacked this week. It's all the talk. You know how those stories get going. People will see vampires in every shadow for a month."
slept at the same inn. We couldn't be safer elsewhere, and the quarters were the best available for grolls.innkeeper had five messages for me. They were from Zeck Zack, had come at a rate of one daily, and had become increasingly strident. I got the impression he wanted to see me.
"Tomorrow is soon enough," I told Morley. "Tonight I'm going to lay around and ruminate and drink beer to get the Cantard dust out of my throat. I'm not much closer to the woman but I'm starting to see the outlines of the other stuff. Except for Vasco and his crowd, I don't think it has anything to do with silver. I think three or four conspiracies with completely alien or only marginally overlapping goals have collided here, maybe with the woman being the link. I don't think I'm the only one going around wondering, Who the hell are those guys? What do they want?"let it go there. Morley could chew on it if he wanted. I snuggled up with my beer and tried to let my mind go blank.might say I did not have to work very hard.Zack turned up next day. He got righteous with me.
"Do I work for you?" I asked.looked around. A lot of unfriendly faces were turned his way. Centaurs are not popular, which is probably why Zeck Zack spent so little time at his city house. He desisted, though he kept simmering. He handed me a sealed letter. "Your instructions are in there. You are to come alone."
"Have you been smoking weed?"
"What?"
"I don't go anywhere alone. People have been dying around this town. Four of them right out around your place."
"You will go alone or they will not let you see her."
"Then I'll find her my own way."walked in then, coming back from grazing. He slapped Zeck Zack across the rump, a familiarity and indignity that almost sent him into paroxysms. Morley said, "There was another vampire thing last night, Garrett. Sounded like the real article."
"Remind me to wear my high-collar shirt when I go barhopping tonight." His pursed lips told me he had something more on his mind but wouldn't say what until I got rid of the centaur.told Zeck Zack, "You see? It's dangerous to wander the streets alone."
"I will put it to them. They are going to be very irritated with both of us. They have gone to a great deal of trouble to make the woman available. But, perhaps, for that reason they will accede to your petition."did my eyebrow trick. My petition? "Right. Check it out. You know where to find me."extended a hand. "The instructions? They will have to be changed."gave them back. He left, giving me a couple of dark looks.
"He wanted me to come to the meet all by myself, on the lonesome," I told Morley. "Just me face-to-face with ‘them,' whoever ‘they' are."
"Whoever, they have him peeing down his leg. And he has a reputation for being a tough bastard."
"I noticed he had a case of nerves. What's up?"
"The place is being watched. Somebody followed me out and back. I didn't give it a good scout because I didn't want them to know they'd been made, but I spotted two more. I figured that's iceberg."
"Damn! The works. A whole crew. And now they know I'm dealing with Zeck Zack."
"Spilled milk. Who do you figure for it?"
"That army bastard. I don't know why. Vasco or the striped-sail crowd wouldn't have the resources. The centaur doesn't need to know every breath we take. He hopes he has us on the hook."
"Maybe the major needs a closer look."
"Maybe. Though I don't even know his name. And I'd rather not. I'd just as soon get on with the job I'm getting paid to do."nodded. "It's getting thick. I find myself looking forward to the trip home—in my more insane, impatient moments."slouched in my seat. "I guess we spend the day on in-and-out, getting a scout on how many and how good they are. We can make like we're getting ready for another trip out of town. We can eat the food on the way home if the meet goes down and I get what I need."
"We'll have to work a way for all of us to shake them, too."
"Yeah. This thing couldn't get any more complicated if you hired three wizards to knot it up."
was wrong, of course. It could get more complicated. And it did., the triplets, and I spent the day running the bird dogs, and scoped out both daytime and nighttime routines for shaking them, though it looked like there would be at least twenty of them on us around the clock. It isn't hard to shake watchers when you know they're around, especially in a city as crazy as Full Harbor.had gone out for supper. I was having mine with Dojango in the common room. His brothers were in our quarters, where they felt more comfortable.wasn't a bad sort to pass the time with, if you made allowances. He knew more crude stories than anyone I'd ever met, though he didn't deliver them very well. Actually.complication waltzed through the door.
"Saucerhead Tharpe!" I groaned.
"And Spiney Prevallet," Dojango said of the guy who was the last of the four to enter. "Doris! Marsha!" He could put a snap in his voice when he wanted. It carried over the common-room noise.two in the middle need no introduction. My old flames, Tinnie and Rose. Tinnie stomped past Saucerhead, who was giving the grolls the once-over and not liking what he saw. I said, "I see the Venageti didn't get you. And I thought their sailors had an unfailing eye for the finest."halted in a widespread stance within slapping range, but her fists settled on her hips. "You're a brass-balled son-of-a-bitch, Garrett. You know that?"
"Yeah. I've heard that talk, too. And it's true, so don't think you can flatter me. Have a nice trip? How long you been in town?" I kept one eye on Rose who looked as vicious as an entire pack of wolves circling in for the kill. Saucerhead and Spiney, with better sense and no emotional investment, put their hands in their pockets and kept them there. "Had supper yet? Sit down. My treat. It isn't the Unicorn Gambit, but the food sticks to your ribs."
"You...! You...!" Tinnie stammered. "Don't you sit there and act like you didn't do anything. Don't treat me like one of your flapping old army buddies, you bastard." The fire was fading from her eyes. She had become conscious of the silence surrounding us, of all the staring eyes and knowing smirks.
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